View source for Committee for Economic Development

{{Short description|American think tank}}
{{pp-protected|reason=Persistent UPE|small=yes}}

{{More citations needed|date=January 2022}}

{{Infobox organization
|name         = Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board
|image        = 
[[File:CED Torch Logo.jpg|300px]]
|size         = 
|abbreviation = CED
|formation    = 1942
|type         = [[Think tank]] [[nonprofit organization]]
|headquarters = [[New York, NY]], [[United States]]
|website      = [http://www.ced.org www.ced.org]
}}

The '''Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board''' ('''CED''') is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan{{cn|date=October 2025}} public policy think tank founded in 1942.  The board of trustees consists primarily of senior [[corporate executive]]s from a range of U.S. industries and sectors. CED has been credited with helping to create the [[Marshall Plan]].

== History ==
According to ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' the organization "originated in the [[United States Department of Commerce|Commerce Department]]" in 1942 and was created to encourage collaborative research among business leaders, economists, and [[New Deal]] politicians  "to promote free enterprise and full employment, paying particular attention to the needs of small business".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Mudge|first=Stephanie L.|date=30 May 2019|title=Commentary: An Alliance Between Big Business and Democratic Socialists Isn't as Unlikely as It Sounds|url=https://fortune.com/2019/05/30/capitalism-democratic-socialists/|access-date=2022-01-30|website=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|language=en}}</ref>

The first business leaders on board were [[Paul G. Hoffman]], president of [[Studebaker|Studebaker Corporation]]; [[William Benton (senator)|William Benton]], co-founder of [[Benton & Bowles]] advertising firm; and [[Marion B. Folsom]], treasurer of [[Kodak|Eastman Kodak Company]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} CED was first formed to help the [[Economy of the United States|U.S. economy]] transition from a wartime to peacetime economy.<ref name=":0" /> At the end of [[World War II]], CED worked to garner support among the American business community for the [[Marshall Plan]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Allott|first=Daniel|date=2020-01-21|title=Capitalism must meet the challenge: Prosperity for all Americans|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/479179-capitalism-must-meet-the-challenge-prosperity-for-all-americans|access-date=2022-01-30|website=[[The Hill (magazine)|The Hill]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name="About CED">{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://www.ced.org/about|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board}}</ref>

In January 2015, the Committee for Economic Development merged with [[The Conference Board]].<ref>{{Cite press release|last=|first=|title=The Conference Board to Merge with the Committee for Economic Development|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-conference-board-to-merge-with-the-committee-for-economic-development-300020593.html|access-date=2022-01-30|website=[[PR Newswire]]|language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=January 2022}} Both are non-partisan, non-lobbying, and have trustees drawn mainly from the business community.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

== Work ==
The CED has been credited with helping to create the [[Bretton-Woods Agreement|Bretton Woods Agreement]], the [[Employment Act of 1946]] (and therefore the [[Council of Economic Advisers]] and the [[Joint Economic Committee]]) and the [[Marshall Plan]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> 

Since its inception, CED has promoted policies that its trustees{{who|date=October 2025}} believe will foster American economic growth and development and indirectly benefit the country and people.{{cn|date=October 2025}} The organization conducts research and outreach efforts in the U.S. and abroad to change policy at all levels of government. More recently{{when|date=October 2025}} CED has also advocated to increase access to [[pre-kindergarten]] and [[college]], for [[Campaign finance reform in the United States|campaign finance reform]] nationally, for more women in corporate leadership, and for reduced government spending.<ref name="About CED" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=January 2022}}

== Stated aims ==
As of 2022 CED's stated aims were to sustain and promote [[free enterprise]], improve [[education]] and [[health care|healthcare]], reform [[campaign finance in the United States|campaign finance]], enhance [[corporate governance]], and improve the fiscal health of the [[United States]].<ref name="About CED" />

== Reception ==
The organization has been called "the capitalists who cared enough about the system to save it."<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

{{Cite book|last=Schriftgiesser|first=Karl|title=Business Comes of Age. The Story of the Committee for Economic Development and Its Impact Upon the Economic Policies of the United States, 1942-1960|date=1967|publisher=[[Harper and Brothers]]|location=New York|language=English|oclc=911692573}}

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[[Category:Think tanks based in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:1942 in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:1942 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Economic development organizations in the United States]]